“A person shouldn’t have to file bankruptcy to keep their home”

Peter Eisert, a homeowner from Excelsior, Minn., testifies at a foreclosure moratorium “people’s” hearing held by state Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Karen Clark (DFL, Minneapolis). Their bill, HF 1886/SF 1521, would provide a temporary moratorium on foreclosures in Minnesota. The legislation is largely symbolic, though, because the Republicans in power are unlikely to push it forward.

Eisert claims he was misled by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and unable to get a home loan modification. The value of his home, where he has lived since 1994, has fallen to $96,000 and he has fallen behind on payments. Eisert was forced to file bankruptcy in order to remain in the home. He has requested accounting information from the bank but says he has never received it. To add insult to injury, during a recent conversation with a loan modification officer, Eisert was asked if he was recording the conversation, and that if he was, he was told the conversation would not continue.

“A person should not have to file bankruptcy to keep their home,” said Eisert. “This has caused me extreme stress and has affected my life, my sleeping, my eating, my health and my ability to work, my friendships and my relationships with my family. My dream is to have a peaceful, safe place to lay my head.”

Rep. Clark offered that she or her colleagues could reach out to Wells Fargo’s lobbyists who often visit the State Capitol and attempt to help Eisert. Click here to watch the entire foreclosure moratorium “people’s” hearing and press conference that preceded it.

Support this story and all the stories from The Uptake. Donate.

In addition to shooting videos for The UpTake, Jacob Wheeler is a contributing editor at the progressive political magazine In These Times, publishes the Glen Arbor Sun in his native Michigan, and authored "Between Light and Shadow," a recent book about the Guatemalan adoption industry. Wheeler's stories have appeared in such magazines as the Utne Reader, Earth Island Journal, Rotarian and Teaching Tolerance magazine, and newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle and Christian Science Monitor. He speaks fluent Spanish, German and Danish.

Comments are closed.

More About

(Note: This video is featured courtesy of The Saint Paul Foundation. To learn more about all of this year's Ambassador Award honorees, visit http://www.saintpaulfoundation.org/ambassador_awards/) Lucila Dominguez knows that change doesn’t come easily.

Macalester alumni are upset over the Saint Paul-based liberal arts college's crackdown on student activism. The Kicks Well Fargo Off Campus campaign seeks divestment from the bank for its involvement in the housing foreclosure crisis.

Green Party vice presidential candidate Cheri Honkala said that, were she and presidential candidate Jill Stein to win Tuesday's election, the first thing they'd do would be to enact a moratorium on foreclosures in the United States of America."

This year's Pride parade had something extra to celebrate — a U.S. Supreme Court ruling making marriage equality the law in all 50 states. The parade attracted the usual colorful assortment of marchers and floats as well as many politicians.

Where This Story Happens

Sign up for news from The UpTake!

Recent Posts

Secretary of State Steve Simon urged Minnesotans to “stay restless” in their pursuit of voting rights for all Americans at a ceremony in St. Paul honoring the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Minnesotans who helped make the historic legislation a reality.

Former Minnesota Governor Al Quie says Ben Carson is his first choice for president among the Republican candidates. Quie laughs when talking about the current Republican and Democratic presidential front runners.

Minnesota Senate staffers can look forward to more money in their paycheck. The Senate Rules committee Tuesday approved a three percent salary increase for staff in 2015 and another three percent increase in 2016.

Categories

Archives

About The UpTake

The UpTake is an independent, nonprofit (501 c 3) online news organization that began its work in 2007 with a few simple ideas: That media should find and tell the truth without fear or favor; that citizens have the tools to report and explain events without relying on news controlled by large corporations; and that it is the duty of citizens to hold power accountable and to make government transparent to the governed.